Assassins Creed work

1. MEDIA COMPONENT 1
SECTION B
VIDEO GAMING INDUSTRY

2. FUTURE OF MOBILE GAMING
EMERGING
TRENDS
1. Mobile game brands
The widespread success of Pokémon
Go last year, as well as the release of
Super Mario Run, have set the pace.
The growth of brands in the future will
likely center on a more integrated
marketing approach, bringing together
channels like social media, influencers
and celebrities, as well as still- and
motion-picture techniques.
2. Free to play – free to start
Casual gamers, who make up the bulk of the mobile
gaming audience, are typically reluctant to spend
money for a game they likely won’t play for more than
a few days.
Therefore, fixed price tags are rarely an option for
mobile game makers, and instead, Booster Packs and
IAPs (in-app purchases) have taken center stage as the
primary source of revenue.
3. Multiplayer and social features
Technology has been consistently moving towards deeper social engagement, and games haven’t been
left behind.
Today, games are now social havens where like-minded people can meet and interact while blowing off
zombie-brains and exploring post-apocalyptic cities.
4. Mobile eSports
Traditionally, eSports have been
reserved almost exclusively for the PC
and console market. In recent times,
however, mobile gaming seems to be
making inroads in the space.
Spearheading the bold move are
Vainglory and Clash Royale, both
which are paving the way for a new
generation eSports games, tailored for
and better-played on mobile.
5. VR and AR
Virtual reality kicked into high-gear last year when the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift, and
the PlayStation VR hit the shelves.
However, not everyone is able to afford these, the Samsung Gear VR offered users
more than decent virtual reality experience. The release of the Daydream View was yet
another plus for the mobile gaming industry.

3. REALITY OF THE ‘CONSOLE
DECLINE’
• The console market has suffered decline particularly during the past three
years, with a thinning out of big-box publishers like THQ and Midway, and
the closure of successful development studios responsible for some of the
best-loved franchises in the business.
• Many commentators see this, along with plummeting retail sales, as the
beginning of the end of the console business, as more developers move to
mobile, PCs and tablets, shunning high game prices for free-to-play
services, value for money bundles and app stores that offer distribution
opportunities to millions of consumers.

4. HOW DOES PC GAMING FARE IN
THE OVERALL MARKET?
• With $32.3 billion in revenue, PC gaming made up 28% of the industry’s $116
billion value in 2017.
• Boxed PC games still drew in $3.2 billion, while the similarly shrinking browser
game market earned $5.2 billion, with the remainder of revenues earned
through digital sales of standalone games and add-on content.
• Overall, both PC and console games saw growth this year just under 4%, with
the latter portion of the industry accounting for 29% of annual revenue.
• the mobile market had explosive growth this year, with 23.3% year over year
growth to $50.4 billion in revenue, accounting for 43% of the industry’s total
revenue.

5. IS VR BECOMING MORE
MAINSTREAM?
• Between their (Samsung–and Facebook) launches last year and the end of March,
according to SuperData Research, consumers had purchased a combined total of
about 7.7 million of the five most high-profile VR headsets—the Gear VR, Sony’s
PlayStation VR, Google’s Daydream View, HTC’s Vive, and the Oculus Rift.
• Even though SuperData predicts that those numbers will rise to 15.9 million total
headset sales by the end of 2017, those are not the numbers of a mainstream
technology, especially considering that other data suggests little regular usage of
those VR systems.

6. • Many consumers believe the VR gear, especially high-quality systems, costs
too much. The Vive, for example, costs $798, while the PSVR and Rift run
$398. All three systems require being tethered with pricey computing
hardware, either gaming-quality PCs in the case of the Rift and Vive, or the
PlayStation 4 for the PSVR.
• While mobile systems like the Gear VR or Daydream View are fairly easy to
use, they still require frequent updates, and continue to appear bulky in size.

7. HOW MARKETERS ARE STEPPING
INTO THE WORLD OF VR
• VR provides consumers with a platform to interact with a brand in a more personal
way and has proven to be a beneficial tool for marketing, education, web design
and other spheres of work.
• A number of big brands have already started to benefit from this technology. IKEA
uses VR in its app, giving buyers the option to virtually check how the furniture will
look in their house without visiting the store.
• Another big brand is Oreo. In order to promote its newly filled cupcake-flavored
cookies, the brand created an animated virtual video where users can experience
the magical fantasyland complete with chocolate canyons and milk rivers.

8. HOW DOES OWNERSHIP AND
USAGE OF THE ‘VR’ COMPARE
GLOBALLY, AND BY MARKET?

10. HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY
CHANGED GAMING?1. Artificial intelligence has grown by leaps and
bounds.
Computers have earned to play dozens of vintage
video games without any prior help in how to achieve
human-like scoring abilities.
The intelligent machine learns by itself from scratch
using a trial-and-error approach that is reinforced by
the reward of a score in the game.
This is fundamentally different to previous game-
playing “intelligent” computers- it’s already gotten to
the point where it is training a computer-controlled
player to act like a human. An example being, The
Deep Q-network which has learned to play Space
Invaders and Breakout.
2. Online play ‘is the icing on the cake’
The evolution of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online
Role Playing Game), has meant online gaming has
become an entirely different experience today.
At present, gamers can engage and play with fellow
gamers online regardless of their geographical locations.
An example being, ‘All Slots Casino’.

11. 4. Graphical upgrades are so much enhanced
Technology has apparently allowed for enhanced graphics by
means of hardware upgrades.
Today is the scene of high-speed hardware, which allows for
more instructions, pixels, and shading—even on an enormous
scale. An example being Minecraft.
5. Portability has made gaming convenient
Gaming consoles were miniaturized and made easily
transportable, meaning people could now game anywhere any
time.
But the uniqueness about being able to game any time
anywhere is just undeniable.
3. The third dimension looks wonderful
Now, most games are three dimensional games, as
opposed to the two dimensional games which only
consisted of top-down, platformers, and views.
Third dimensional games have the betterment of
graphics software, and they are even looking better.
The stride to the third dimension has changed
something fundamental regarding the way games
look and feel.
An example being, Penelope; a 3D Game

12. 4 TECHINCAL
IMPROVEMENTS
IN GAMING
1. ONLINE PLAY
Connects people with
other like-minded gamers
from all over the world.
2. BETTER GRAPHICS
As 3D games and VR games
become more and more
popular, we’ll be able to
experience games in a way
that was hard to imagine just
a few shorts decades ago.
3. GAMES ARE EVERYWHERE
The ease of access, free
downloads and a wide range
of games, from learn to read
games, to playing real casino
games and everything in
between.
4. CLOUD BASED
TECHNOLOGY
Freeing up space on the
computer, phone or game
console, cloud based
technology will make
games more accessible for
everyone.

13. REGULATION
• There's no specific law that prevents parents from letting their kids play violent or
sexualised video games.
• The Classification System that applies to video games in the UK:
Previously, the UK used a combination of PEGI (Pan-European Games Information)
ratings and BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) classifications.
Now however, only the PEGI system is used (unless the game is rated R18 –
pornographic, in which case the BBFC is still involved).
• In July 2012 it became the Video Standard Council's (VSC – operating under the
name GRA – Games Rating Authority) legal responsibility to rate games.

14. ASSASINS CREED - MARKETING AND
REPSONSE IN JAPAN, EUROPE AND
AMERICA
• Ubisoft's chief sales and marketing officer Geoffroy Sardin
“We wanted to address and involve the consumer in advance, especially digitally. And
through the marketing website to have direct contact in advance with the dev team,
through our forums and community tools. To ask the community what they want and
what they don't want. What they understood and what they didn’t.”
• The new setting and hero helped towards that goal, giving people who perhaps
weren't familiar with Ezio an entry point into the franchise. Also key was finding
ways to reach people using new media, both social and mainstream.

15. • Within the UK, the company decided to use new media with the media. They supported
in the summertime a huge campaign of advertising in the cinema, using a new type of
communication based on the RISE CAMPAIGN, a short movie using new emotions in
the communication for the brand.
• All social websites and the Facebook front page was used, as they recruited more than 2
million people, and more new fans. This paved the way for media, quality and social
websites.
• The marketing strategy was focused on consumer point of view in advance. The money
was spent before the launch, as that the game was first revealed in March, a full nine
months before release.
“Another thing that is very important for the lifecycle is the transmedia offer. All the
figurines, the books, the publishing, and we have a movie in the next coming year. So it's
not only about games, we are talking about a global brand, and this is the life cycle
management we want to set up now.”

16. SALES FIGURES DECEMBER 2017
• For the quarter, Ubisoft posted €725.0 million ($890.73 million)
in revenue, up 36% year-over-year and well above both the
publisher's original and revised revenue targets. Among the
studio's major releases for the quarter were Assassin's Creed:
Origins and South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
• Assassin's Creed in particular was singled out for praise by the
company, which noted that it was the third-best seller in the
Europe, Middle-east and Africa region last year.

17. DEFINITIONSMMORPG – an online role-playing video game in which
a very large number of people participate
simultaneously.
An example : World of Warcraft 2004
Persistent Worlds – is a virtual world which "continues
to exist and develop internally even when there are no
people interacting with it“
An example: Neverwinter Nights 2002
CRPG – Computer Role Playing Game) Role playing on
the computer, typically in a fantasy environment,
although some take place in a medieval setting. A
major characteristic of CRPGs is the user's ability to
move freely throughout the venue.
An example : The Banner Saga 2014

18. Augmented Reality -a technology that
superimposes a computer-generated image on
a user's view of the real world, thus providing a
composite view.
An example: Pokémon GO
Avatar – An avatar is a personalized graphical
illustration that represents a computer user, or a
character or alter ego that represents that user.
An avatar can be represented either in three-
dimensional form (for example, in games or
virtual worlds) or in two-dimensional form as
an icon in Internet forums.
An example: Pokémon – Nintendo video game

19. APPEAL OF VIDEO GAMES
• It allows people to connect through a range of platforms; e.g. Xbox and
social media ; Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat etc.
• It allows an individual to challenge themselves through competition, as
there as an opportunity for a single player to vs a multi player.
• The intertextuality allows an individual have a sense of escapism as the
persistent worlds within a game, allow this to happen.
• Avatars allow an individual to have no constructed boundaries, as tge
virtual world allows a person to be in control of their own actions,
regardless of how dangerous.

20. TRAILER - MARKETING
• The trailer starts of with the ‘Pegi 18’ logo confirming and informing the consumers,
who the ‘Assassins Creed’ video game is targeted to, thus their audience.
• The French video game publisher ‘Ubisoft’ is featured at (0:08) within the trailer, to
inform the consumers.
• The narrative of the trailer being of a young girl, whose mother was a slave and
father being a white man of ‘opportunity and wealth’. The young girl thus goes on a
mission to be a symbol of hope for the enslaved, and become an ‘Assassin’. The
narrative used is a powerful one, as it explores topical issues of slavery and
inequality.

21. • The lead character is both a female and of colour, allowing the game to
appeal to more people, therefore allowing the target audience to be
expanded.
• The use of heightened dramatic sounds, with pauses allows a feeling of
suspense to be build, intriguing a consumer about the game.
• The use of visuals and colours also allow the audience to gain a feel for the
game, allowing them to be in control of whether they want to buy the game
or not.

22. • The use of written text also features throughout the trailer;
• ‘ALL NEW MISSIONS’ being presented at (1:16)
• ‘UPGRADED LEVELS AND ENVIRONMENT’ at (1:19)
• ‘REFINED GAMEPLAY’ at (1:23)
• ‘A TRUE HD EXPERIENCE’ at (1:26)
• With the actual name of the game being presented right at the end at (1:44)
‘ASSASINS CREED LIBERATION HD’

23. BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT
• Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961) tested 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford
University Nursery School aged between 3 to 6 years old.
• The researchers pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were by
observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behaviour on
four 5-point rating scales.
• The Bobo Doll Experiment was performed in 1961 by Albert Bandura, to try and
add credence to his belief that all human behaviour was learned, through social
imitation and copying, rather than inherited through genetic factors.

24. RESULTS:
• Children who were exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to
show imitative aggressive behaviour themselves.
• Prediction four was proved correct in that boys were nearly three times
likely to replicate physically violent behaviour than girls.
• The measurements for verbally aggressive behaviour again showed that
children exposed to aggressive role models were more likely to imitate this
behaviour. The levels of verbal aggression expressed were about the same
for boys and girls.

25. BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT APPLIED
TO ASSASSINS CREED III: LIBERATION
• Bandura’s ‘Bobo Doll Experiment’ can be applied to ‘Assassins Cred III :
Liberation’, as it can be argued that children who are exposed to the aggressive
nature in the game are more likely to show imitative aggressive behaviour
themselves. Assassins Creed III : Liberation deals with lots of violence and hatred
towards a specific group of individuals, being white men. As the game features a
mature subject matter of slavery, it could also create mixed emotions for those
who may be playing the game and are under the pegi rated age of 18.
Therefore it can be argued that ‘Assassins Creed III: Liberation’ poses a threat, as it
may encourage individuals to use this verbal and physical violence, within the real
world, as opposed to just the virtual wold.

26. AUDIENCES
• The company decided to include a mixed – race female protagonist in Aveline
de Grandpre to reach a wider audience. The gaming industry usually features
male protagonists within their video games, as stereotypically companies
consider their consumers to be male orientated. However, there are also
females that do enjoy playing the video games, and thus by including a female
protagonist, this allows the company to broaden their target audience, and
gain new and more consumers.
• The female protagonist being mixed – race also breaks the stereotypical video
gaming ideals, of a white character. The fact that she is mixed race, allows the
company to also reach a wider audience and broaden their target audience, as
it allows consumers to see a part of them, being their culture or background.
This has the potential to make the game personal to an individual or a group
of people, as the theme of slavery is heightened within the ‘Assassins Creed III:
Liberation’ game.

27. RESPONSES TO ‘ASSASINS CREED
III: LIBERATION’
• Gamespot website has a positive response to the game, with the consumers
appreciating the fact that the game features a female protagonist.
• Eurogamer. Net features both positive and negative reviews, as the positive
reviews include the positive response to the protagonist being foremost a
female protagonist and mixed race. The negative reviews include the fact that
the game takes time to collect winnings.
• UK ign.com features both positive and negative responses. The positives being
that the game features a creative narrative and main character; a female
protagonist. However, the game features which are placed to be used, thus
limiting personal control within the game.

28. FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN
GAMING
• The mixed – race female protagonist in Aveline de Grandpre subverts traditional ideals
or stereotypes within the gaming industry. Traditionally, a white male protagonist is the
most represented character presented within the gaming industry, as it is what most
companies/ publishers believe the target audience are. However, the audiences of
gaming are both males and females and consist of a wide range of backgrounds.
• Therefore, by ‘Assassins Creed III: Liberation’ including a female protagonist who is
mixed race, the audience can be expanded, and path the way for other publishers and
companies to use both female protagonists and different cultural backgrounds.

29. PRODUCERS TARGETING , ATTRACTING,
REACHING, ADDRESSING AND
CONSTRUCTING AUDIENCES
• The game is a hand held device, and
therefore targets and attracts ‘on the
go’ gamers who use a mobile phone,
as opposed to a console and PC
gamers. In addition, it features
practical usage, and therefore
addresses and reaches a demographic
for those aged eighteen years and
above. This therefore makes the game
more appealing compared to others
which consist of multiple wiring,
remotes, Pc’s etc.